The DIY dino your child will dig

22 August

On paper, children should be petrified of dinosaurs. In reality, they are OBSESSED. T. rex is a case in point. Ferocious, enormous and harnessing some real anger issues, he’s not an obvious candidate for a toy. But because he’s long gone, and poses absolutely no threat whatsoever, kids love him. Being extinct sure has made the T. rex more likeable.

And there’s more. Younger preschoolers love to categorize everything, and that includes telling a Triceratops apart from a pterodactyl. You’ll be seriously impressed when your little one spots an Apatosaurus at 20 paces – and gets their tiny teeth and tongue around that multi-syllable name. Older preschoolers, meanwhile, will have a ton of mind-boggling questions to fire off. You might not be able to answer them all (hello, internet) but theorizing about the world of dinos will aid your little one’s analytical and reasoning skills.

So who's this likeable lizard then? He’s the lesser-known Duplodocus. Don’t down tools if you are missing the exact bricks to build him, simple hacks like using stickers for eyes will give the same great effect. We’d love to see the results, so feel free to share pics on our Facebook page. If your little one wants even more prehistoric play, try creating a fossil using extra LEGO® DUPLO® bricks and a baseplate. Er, one more thing. We forget to mention, you’re about to hear a lot of dinosaur noises from your little one. Sorry about that.